KALAMAZOO -- Fewer officers in the city of Kalamazoo does not mean a change in emergency responses to critical police, fire and EMS calls, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley told city commissioners Monday, after the city unveiled an organizational plan that includes fewer city-sponsored activities and the outsourcing of some jobs.

As the city's Early Retirement Incentive developed and Hadley and his staff discovered that 54 of 243 sworn officers would accept the early retirement, they had to wrap their minds around new ways of operating, he told the Kalamazoo City Commission in a special meeting.

"What didn't get lost is our focus on the community, who they are and what they represent, what we can deliver and what we can't deliver," Hadley said.

Under the plan, the departments of public safety, public services, community planning and development and parks and recreation -- which employ a combined 81 percent of the ERI's participants -- will absorb the most impact.

Hadley and his staff decided emergency response and other core services -- including the investigation of violent crimes, maintaining community relationships and training current and future employees -- would be the basis of the future Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.

Once the ERI is complete in January 2014, Hadley's department will operate with 28 fewer sworn officers. The department's Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team drug unit will merge with its Criminal Investigations Division.

In response to the changes, Hadley and his team looked at calls for service in order to restructure staffing levels. The department receives 66 percent of calls for service between 3 p.m. and 3 a.m., he said. In response, Hadley restructured officers so that more would be on-shift during that time and fewer would be working at, for example, 6 a.m., when there are few calls.

The city also is exploring using "Cop-Logic" technology that would allow
residents to report low-level crimes online. In turn, routine,
non-critical calls for service could be handled by an automated system,
"creating more capacity for attention to community engagement and
problem solving," according to the release.

In the Department of Public Services, 91 workers -- or 41 percent -- accepted the early retirement. In all, 54 positions will be filled and the department will scale down from 223 to 180 positions.

Bruce Merchant, the department's director, said he will focus on core services, including snow removal, pothole patching, street sweeping and construction. Other "non-essential" services, including repairing street signs, stump removal and right-of-way issues, will likely be delayed, though Merchant said he wouldn't know exactly how long those delays would take. Merchant said he will be able to give residents a time frame for service when they call on those non-essential issues.

Hadley and Merchant spoke to commissioners along with City Manager Kenneth Collard and Human Resources Director Jerome Post at a special meeting before the commission's business meeting.

At its business meeting Monday, the Kalamazoo City Commission unanimously approved an additional appropriation of $282,000 to the city's general fund that amended the city's general fund budget to $56,429,455. City Manager Kenneth Collard said that money roughly amounts to $60,000 for consulting services to help the city realign through the Early Retirement Incentive, $180,000 for recruitment and searches as the city fills nearly 130 positions and about $42,000 to fund a human resources position through the end of 2012.

The city will eliminate the annual father/daughter dance and Santa's Workshop, both of which are Department of Parks and Recreation-sponsored activities. The city also will contract with private providers to mow parks and perform some Kik Pool services.

The city could transfer Bronson Park's operations and maintenance in 2014, when its maintenance contract for the park expires. The park is owned by Kalamazoo County.

The city will eliminate four positions in the assessor's office, and instead will contract with a private company for property appraisals.

The city will discuss with Southwest Michigan First a potential contract for economic development services. It will continue to staff brownfield redevelopment, but will not replace a retiring city business growth specialist.

The city will consider adopting a simpler, standardized housing code. If adopted, the code would allow the city to use private, certified inspectors to conduct rental property checks. Inspections for the city's 16,500 rental units could be conducted less often. The city could simplify historic district building standards.

The city will eliminate the purchasing director's position, which could result in a longer competitive bidding process.

The Department of Community Planning and Development will be assigned weed and trash ordinance enforcement, rather than the Department of Public Services.

The city will fill 20 vacancies in the Transportation Department, following the retirement of 20 employees, including the transportation director and assistant director.

Human Resources Director Jerome Post said city officials are recruiting job applicants. Job listings can be accessed through the city's website. People can apply there and also can apply in person. Post said city officials will look both internally and externally for candidates.

Post also recognized that some city employees -- those leaving and those staying behind as 219 people leave their positions -- are experiencing fear and anxiety.

Kalamazoo County Commissioner Jack Urban told commissioners and city staff the elected and appointed officials in Kalamazoo County are watching them. If this goes well, he said, the city's reorganization will be a model for other municipalities in the country facing the same situation.

Ken Nacci, president of Downtown Kalamazoo Inc., told commissioners his organization is in Kalamazoo to work together with the city's leaner workforce. His organization's leadership is looking at ways to fill voids, he said.

"We're there, thinking," he said. "We're anxious. We're a little nervous, as you all are. But we're there to work together."

Emily Monacelli is a government and taxes reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact her at emonacel@mlive.com. Follow her on Twitter.